LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



015 930 642 2 



PS 3543 
.fl43 Q6 
1904 

Copy 1 Quod Dedi Rabeo 



By 

lUilliaiti l>ariiiati van Jllletit $« Z. D. 



Privately Printed 
Boston 

ebristmas* memiu. 



Quod Dedt l>abeo. 

Unlaurclled, idtiorant of music's art. 
It falls to mc to play tbc pocfs part 
Before this goodly fellowship of friends, 
Gathered together from the land's far ends* 
Hnd so 1 bring a tale from out the East 
Co grace the ending of our yearly feast, 
Oirit first in that melodious Persian tongue 
Olherein Omar Khayyam and l^afiz sung. 
Hnd pray you pardon for the clumsiness 
Chat clothes the story in an English dress. 

Cbe Fall of Baldacca« 

« « « 

J1 mighty PHnce once reigned in Braby, 
Cord of Baldacca styled, and Islam's Shield. 

Chousands of spearmen owned his sovereignty, 
Chousands of servants toiled in mine and field, 

Olhose labours all were spent but to supply 

Che yawning coffers of his treasury. 

Slow winding through the desert's dreary way 
Bis caravans brought silks and stones of price. 

Shawls from Kashmir and lacquer from €athay, 
Trom far eipango's islands bales of spice, 

Und gold and silver work from liindustan, 

HII to enrich the more Baldacca's Khan. 



J1cro$$ the Persian Bulf bis dallcys went, 
Jind out into tbe wide expanse of sea, 

Co all tbe countries of tbe Orient, 
$earcbind for trade ivberever gain midbt be ; 

Cbe wbile tbeir master, in Baldacca's bold, 

Caufibed as be brooded o*er bis beaps of gold ; 

Caudbed as be wandered tbrougb tbe caverns dim. 
Piled bidb witb goodly gear and mercbandise, 

jRnd tbougbt bow all tbis wealtb belonged to bim, 
Jind bow to gatber gain was to be wise. 

Because, wbatever else migbt pass away, 

0old would be gold until tbe judgment Day* 

Jind still tbe fever burned witbin bis soul ! 

6lory and bonour were forgotten quite, 
Jind all bis striving was toward tbat one goal, 

Co see bis flickering lantern glimmer brigbt 
On ever-growing beaps of massy bars, 
Jind lewehcaskets glittering like stars 

Olitb lucent gems from out 6olconda's mine, 
Jind opals, lit witb secret, lambent flame, 

Jind rubies, coloured like forbidden wine* 
ff)e turned away from loves and war and fame, 

Jind brooded o'er sucb cold, insensate toys, 

Jls if in notbing else be could re|oice« 

lie laid aside bis royal pomp of state. 
Forgetting bow sucb pageants feed tbe eye, 

Jind tbinking only bow be migbt abate 
Cbe cbarges on bis palace treasury : 

Olby feed and clotbe a tbousand servingsmen, 

Oiben all bis tasks could be performed by ten ? 



605163 

ns 1 7 mi 



Or wby> indeed, maintatn in proud array 
0rcat armies to defend Baldacca's throne, 

Bnd keep tbe fierce tnustapba, far away. 
From reaching forth to grasp and make his own 

Che fair rose^dardens of the north frontier, 

Hnd castles filled with splendid warlike gear? 

Chen came a famine on the parching land, 
Hnd all the people cried aloud for corn. 

But when the monarch heard the shrill demand, 
lie scowled with rage, and turned away in scorn : 

**Cet them eat grass, like other beasts,'' he said, 

**nor dare presume to trouble me for bread ! '' 

Jind so they died by hundreds in the street. 
Even in the shelter of the cool arcade 

Olhere once the king had set his ludgment seat. 
Before the cursed lust for gold had made 

B greedy miser of the nation's chief. 

Unwilling to afford their want relief. 

Jit last the starving sullen multitude 
Rebelled, and raged around his palace gate, 

Chreatening the guards, and calling out for food, 
mad with the frenzy of long=stif1ed hate, 

Olith bony, brandished arms tossed high in air. 

In agony of hunger and despair. 

Jind while the Khan grew pale with sudden dread, 
Jl mighty sound of marching men arose ; 

For, with their sovereign at his army's head, 
Che hosts of Farsistan, Baldacca's foes, 

made ready to assault the turret tali 

Guarding the town along the northern wall* 



Oloc to Baldacca's avaricious Kitid ! 

Cbe sbatteritid trumpets scarce bad sounded, when 
Cbe gates were swung wide open, welcoming 

Cbe Persian troops witb eager baste $ and tben 
mitbout a tbrust of spear or stroke of sword, 
Cbe crowd acclaimed Itlustapba sis tbeir lord* 

But weeks went by before tbe citadel 

Ufas stormed at last, and taken* Cbere, witbin. 
Upon a pile of seguins, wbere be fell, 

Cbere lay tbe migbty Kban, l11ansour=edsdin, 
Ulitb clawlike fingers striving still to bold, 
even in deatb bis boarded useless gold ! 

« c c c « c 

Cbis legend teacbes — ab, wbat need to tell 

Cbe fearful lesson unmistakable ? — 

€bat greed will come to want ; tbat selfisbness, 

$elfscentred and unmindful of distress. 

Is sure to end in anguisb and despair ; 

Jind tbat naugbt stays witb us save wbat we sbare* 

But we, wbom lust of lucre may not tempt, 

Hre still from subtler dangers unexempt : 

Und we must not forget, we most of all, 

f)ow tbirst for knowledge led to Hdam's fall* 

mere learning, garnered up in minds we1l=stored. 

Is wortbless as tbe starving miser's board ; 

Hnd only as we use our lore to aid 

Our poorer bretbren, bungry and dismayed, 

$ball we obey tbe Gospel's mandate clear. 

Forbidding us to lay up treasures bere* 



Our Blessed Cord iva$ bom in David's town, 

H royal city* and of fair renown ; 

JInd tbence lie lourneyed to tbe land of Kbenit 

JIbode of learninst even as Betblebem, 

Foretold o'er Hewry and mankind l>is reidti« 

But wben tbe angel guided tbem again 

from out tbe weary years of banisbmentt 

It was not up to Zion tbat tbey went* 

Cbe lioly €ity, ioy of all tbe eartb* 

nor to tbe gladsome place of 3€$U$' Birtb ; 

But down wbere, ignorant, despised, obscure. 

Peopled by Galilean peasants poor, 

H very by=word, as tbe proverb saitb* 

Far nortb among tbe bills lay nazaretb* 

JInd wbat is tbat but an ensample plain 

For us, wbo follow after in l>is train ? 

^eirs of a Kingdom tbat abides for aye, 

Uie spend in classic courts our youtb's sbort day. 

But wbat avails it tbat we gatber lore 

from all tbe ages tbat bave gone before, 

Co rear vast monuments of selfisb pride, 

Cike tbose tbat burtben nilus' sandy side ? 

Tf Egypt's spell retain us, we are slaves, 

Oibo beap up stones to mark forgotten graves* 

0od called l)is Son from Egypt's mysteries 

Co serve f)im in tbe regions men despise; 

Und in Wts triumpb we sball bave no sbare 

Unless we spend ourselves, our treasures, tbere* 

for still tbe poor lie in tbe gloom of deatbt 

Hnd every city slum is nazaretb* 

Jibt tbere are idols worse tban 3aganatb ; 

Hnd, crusbed and dying in tbeir cbariot's patb. 



Cic tbousands of our brothers, victims slain 
Ttf bomaac to tbe borrid demotit 6aiti* 
Ts molocb's worsbip ended ? Go and see 
l^ow many Cbristian mercbants tbere mav be 
Oibo slay tbeir neidbbors' cbildrent year by year, 
In tbe vile sweat=sbops' furnace atmospbere ! 
Hsbtoretb bas no longer votaries ? 
Cben on ivbose seared and duilty conscience lies 
Cbe blood of tbose, once innocent and sweett 
Driven to sbame, disbonour, and tbe street? 
Cbousands tbat walk in darlinesst yet sball see 
Cbe very Cidbt of Cidbt, if only ive» 
Olitb torcbes kindled at true Olisdom's flame, 
60 down among tbe wretcbed in l$is name, 
Oibo never blessed tbe ricbt nor banned tbe poor, 
JInd arm ourselves to f idbt tbeir battles, sure 
Cbat Cbrist, tbe Carpenter of Galilee, 
Oiill of l^is mercy grant us victory ! 



J^ <^ Jt j^ I'his Legend, with its 
moral duly set forth, is part of a Poem 
read before the Alumni of Syracuse 
University by William Harman vak 
Allkn, of the Class of 1890, who 
now sends it, with his loving saluta- 
tions and Christmas blessing, to hi.«> 
parishioners of the Advent and to 
other friends. 

Rectory of the Advent, Boston, 
Chmtmas Kve, mcmiv 



iLS?''^ ^^ CONGRESS 



LiBRi 

ili 





LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

015 930 642 2 ^ 



